Pioneering Monster Truck Bigfoot Goes Electric: Video

If you frequently attend monster truck events, chances are good you don’t drive a Nissan Leaf. Likewise, if you do drive an electric car, it’s a safe bet that you’re not spending Saturday nights watching hyrdocarbon-spewing, fossil-fuel-gulping monster trucks crush junkyard relics.

Now, however, these two camps have something in common. As Green Car Reports tells us, Bigfoot 4x4 has developed an electric-powered version of its Ford F-Series inspired Bigfoot monster truck in cooperation with partner EnerSys, the company behind Odyssey Batteries.

Thirty Odyssey batteries are used to feed an electric motor rated at 260-kilowatts (the equivalent of 350 horsepower) and an impressive 850 pound-feet of torque. Do we need to remind you that, because it’s electric, the truck has all that torque on tap at zero rpm?

That, coupled with the fact that most monster truck runs are short in duration, would seem to make a valid argument for building more electric monster trucks. Don’t expect that to happen any time soon, as the technology still has some bugs to be worked out before it’s competition-ready.

Jim Kramer, vice-president of research, technology and driver development for Bigfoot 4x4, sums the build up by saying, “Developing a custom electric monster truck is part of our efforts to keep up with ever-changing technology.”

For the near future, Kramer says the electric monster truck will be used in static displays and parades, but future plans could also include exhibition runs. Eventually, the truck could even be used for competition once the team gains more experience with the electric power unit, the batteries and the driveline.

We’re all for motorsports going green, but the sound and the fury of monster trucks are a big part of their appeal. Unless the electric trucks add a soundtrack and some flame-spewing propane jets, we’re not sure fans of the sport will embrace the change.